I am studying the subject of history, and sometimes I speak about some figures with blame and cursing. Is this considered backbiting?
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The questioner says, O honorableThe Shaykh : I am studying the subject of history. And sometimes I speak about some figures with blame and cursing. Is this considered backbiting?
The Shaykh : The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) who write biographies of men still mention the good and the bad in a person. As long as the intention is to clarify the state of this person, there is nothing wrong with it. But here is an important issue: what occurred between the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in terms of fighting and dispute, it is not permissible to speak about it. This is because it is part of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community to hold back from what occurred between the Companions, such as what happened between 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both). It is not permissible to address that, because the matter is as 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "They are bloods from which Allah purified our swords, so we must purify our tongues from them".
And if a person reads history and it becomes clear to him that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib was closer to the truth than Mu'awiyah, but each of them was a mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings). A mujtahid may hit the mark or may err. And a mujtahid from this Ummah (the Muslim community) who exerts his utmost effort to reach the truth but does not hit the truth, he has a full reward, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 5381Sahih (Darussalam).
Such matters that occurred between the Companions should not be published at all among students, because they may cause hatred in a person's heart toward some of the Companions. And this is a very serious matter. We hold all the Companions in our hearts, we hold all of them in love. And we see that some of them are better than others, and that some of them are more correct than others. But all of them, in terms of love, are all beloved to us. We do not find fault with any of them. Yes.
The Shaykh : The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) who write biographies of men still mention the good and the bad in a person. As long as the intention is to clarify the state of this person, there is nothing wrong with it. But here is an important issue: what occurred between the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in terms of fighting and dispute, it is not permissible to speak about it. This is because it is part of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community to hold back from what occurred between the Companions, such as what happened between 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with them both). It is not permissible to address that, because the matter is as 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "They are bloods from which Allah purified our swords, so we must purify our tongues from them".
And if a person reads history and it becomes clear to him that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib was closer to the truth than Mu'awiyah, but each of them was a mujtahid (a scholar qualified to derive rulings). A mujtahid may hit the mark or may err. And a mujtahid from this Ummah (the Muslim community) who exerts his utmost effort to reach the truth but does not hit the truth, he has a full reward, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If a judge passes judgment and strives to reach the right conclusion and gets it right, he will have two rewards; if he strives to reach the right conclusion but gets it wrong, he will still have one reward.
إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد فأصاب فله أجران، وإن أخطأ فله أجرSuch matters that occurred between the Companions should not be published at all among students, because they may cause hatred in a person's heart toward some of the Companions. And this is a very serious matter. We hold all the Companions in our hearts, we hold all of them in love. And we see that some of them are better than others, and that some of them are more correct than others. But all of them, in terms of love, are all beloved to us. We do not find fault with any of them. Yes.